Breaking oval brooches

[disallowed]

I've found two pieces of oval brooches (separate finds ~2 km apart) in the last 30 days, and it got me thinking: why were these broken? Oval Karelian brooches are quite hard to crack (I have one intact brooch, and it is very sturdy). It must take a strong blow to crack one, and a lot of effort to flatten one. Why were they broken? And why was one piece flattened? Maybe it was a child's play of "crack the tortoise?" Or was it a symbolic ritual?

[Astalo]

Probably some partly melted brooch pieces from funeral pyre.

[disallowed]

Probably some partly melted brooch pieces from funeral pyre.

Thanks, that's also something to keep in mind!